Ontario Hockey League Game Day Predictions for Saturday October 20 2012

Ontario Hockey League Game Day Predictions for Saturday October 20 2012

Game Day Previews are brought to you by John Duncan (twitter ID @frontsfocus) and Dwayne Williams (Twitter ID @notsoheavyd). Two average OHL fans that ‘dig into’ the stats to give you an idea who is playing and highlighting some of what different teams/players have been up to. We also give you a fearless prediction of who will win and what the score will be. Last night we sure took a beating by only going 2/8. This might keep you in the starting lineup of the MLB, but not good for us! Time to sharpen up the pencils for tonight’s action! So in memory of us getting beat up we present a picture of former OHLer Taylor Hall and the injury that he suffered in a pre-game warm up last season.

Windsor at Erie

The Spits continue their weekend road trip with a visit to Erie PA. Last night they were at Brampton. They would fall behind early in this game with 3 straight goals scored against them in the first period en route to a 4-1 loss. Brady Vail would notch his sixth goal of the season for Windsor. The Spits seemed disinterested in this contest and weren’t able to muster much in the offensive zone – as the 20 shots on goal attest to. Jordan DeKort was saddled with the loss while stopping 35 of 39 shots sent his way. The Spits 13 points still pegs them in the top half of the Western Conference so look for a better game tonight.

Erie is coming off a huge 3-2 OT shootout win at London in Friday night’s nationally televised game. After falling behind 2-0 in the first period, the Otters patiently battled back to tie the game. Regulation goals were scored by overager JP Lambardo and Adam Pelech (powerplay). The only goal in the shootout would be scored by Captain Connor Brown in the fourth round. Oscar Dansk was sharp in this contest with 37 saves on 39 shots. While the team’s 8 points still pegs them in the basement of the Western Conference, they are within 3 points of 5 other teams.

My prediction Windsor 3 Erie 4

Kingston at Niagara

Kingston (5-4-0-0) defeated the Ice Dogs on home ice on Sept 30 by a score of 5-4. The game winner was scored by Fronts' rookie, Spencer Watson. Kingston's goalie, Mike Morrison made 42 saves that Sunday afternoon to preserve the win. Ryan Kujawinski scored two for the Fronts in this one, and was named the game's first star.

Kingston is coming off of a less than memorable, 8-3 home ice, drubbing to Plymouth last night. They were in the game early on, trailing 3-1 after the first, and with a couple of bounces, and a post, could easily have been tied. Roland McKeown scored his second of the season on a nice rush down the right side. The flood gates opened in the Kingston zone after that, as the Whalers scored 5 straight. The Fronts boarded the bus immediately after the game and will get right back on the horse in St. Catharines tonight. We'll see how resilient this young group is.

Niagara (7-4-0-1) is waiting for the Fronts to come to town to get their revenge. They were not in action on Friday, but on Thursday, they hosted the defensive minded Brampton Battalion. After building a 2-0 lead, after early goals in the first and second periods, Brampton’s Santos would erupt for two goals in a 33 second span to tie it up. A cautious third would solve nothing, and the game went to overtime. Early in the extra frame an always offensive minded Dougie Hamilton pushed past the blue line and snapped home the game winner from the slot for his 4th of the season.

This should be a good game, featuring some established NHL draftees, and some future ones.

My prediction Kingston 2 at Niagara 5

Kitchener at Sarnia

The Rangers are coming off an emotional home opening victory against the CHL ranked Oshawa Generals. The Generals struck first with a goal from Biggs at the 56 second mark of the opening frame. Kitchener would respond with a powerplay and a shorthanded goal to secure the lead to end the first period. They would push onto score twice in the second period and twice in the third period for a convincing 6-2 victory. Ryan Murphy collected 4 assists – Ming and Marcantuoni each had 2 goals for the home side. Kitchener creeps up to 4-4-0-1 with this victory.

Sarnia was in Guelph last night to battle with the strong Storm squad. They would score three straight powerplay goals late in the second period and to open the third period. Normally this would make most scores close, but the team had already surrendered 5 goals so they were probably not going to carve this game into a win. Rough play would ensue in the third period with rearguard DeAngelo assessed a penalty and then a game misconduct - Hottot would also be assessed a game misconduct to go with a head checking penalty. Both players will be out of the lineup for this contest tonight.

My prediction Kitchener 4 Sarnia 1

Guelph at Saginaw

Last night the Storm would host the feisty Sarnia Sting squad. After establishing an early 5-0 lead, they would allow the visitors to score 3 in a row. During the third period the visitors would be assessed a few significant penalties and game misconducts against DeAngelo and Hottot. Ryan Horvat was sharp with 2 goals and 1 assist to go with his first star honours. Dickinson, Auger, Garlant and Milne would all have multipoint games. Defencemen Matt Finn and Zac Leslie would both boost their stats with a +3 rating. The Storm continue their challenge for top spot in the Western Conference with a record of 7-2-0-1 (2 pts behind Owen Sound). Their next game is on Sunday night in Sault Ste Marie.

Saginaw is hosting their annual Pink out game tonight. Last night the Spirit would build up a 4-0 lead en route to a home 6-1 victory over Mississauga. Dalton Young gathered first star honours with his 3 point game. Vincent Trochek’s had 2 points in the game, leads the team with 18 points and is tied for second in league scoring. The Spirit’s record is 4-5-2-0 good for eighth spot in the Western Conference.

My prediction Guelph 3 Saginaw 4

London at Barrie

The Knights lost a televised home game last night vs. the spunky Erie Otters. The Knights would lead2-0 before the visitors would score late in the first period. Erie scored the only goal at 4:39 of the second period – and neither team was able to score in the final frame or the overtime period. The shootout would go to four rounds before the visitors would slip one past Kevin Baille. Domi and Anderson scored for the Knights. London has a record of 5-3-0-1 and is in the middle of the pack early in the season. After this game the Knights will continue up the 400 highway to play the Sudbury Wolves on Sunday afternoon.

Barrie is the #9 ranked team in the CHL this week and holds the top spot in the Eastern Conference with a record of 9-2-0-0. On Thursday night this team would dismantle the struggling Ottawa squad by a score of 7-3. They would post goals on 5 of their 8 powerplay opportunities. Mark Scheifele would post 3 goals and 3 assists for his team leading 19th point in 11 games. Zach Hall also had a 6 point night including 2 goals. On Sunday the Colts will play at Brampton.

My prediction London 2 Barrie 4

Oshawa at Owen Sound

The Oshawa Generals (7-3-0-1) are coming off a stinging defeat last night in Kitchener. It was the Rangers' late season opener because of arena renovations, so they were understandably "jacked up" for this contest. Oshawa scored the first goal of the night, but would find themselves down 4-1, as the second period came to a close, and eventually lost the game 6-2. Rookie netminder Ken Appleby replaced Daniel Altshuller after the 5th goal in the third, and gave up only one goal in the last 15 minutes, but by then, the game had been decided.

Owen Sound (8-1-0-1) are the hottest team in the OHL right now, having won their last 5 games in a row. Last night, Cameron Brace scored his 10th goal of the season against the Ottawa 67's in their 4-1 home ice win. The game featured plenty of end to end rushes, and was a very entertaining game to watch that featured great goaltending at both ends of the ice.

This game should be equally exciting because both teams have some high end offensive talent.

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